Brazilian gym offers alternative to drugs and crime

Thablio Tardoni, 6, plays with weights at the Alcantara Machado gym on July 18.

By Nacho Doce / Reuters

The Alcantara Machado gym was founded in 2009 by former Brazilian professional boxer Nilson Garrido under the Alcantara Machado viaduct in the Mooca neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The gym allows young people alternatives to drugs and crime through sports. The gym received its equipment through donations and is visited daily by more than 100 people. Most clientele are unemployed or in financial troubles.

Simone Franco, 35, lifts weights next to her 11-month-old son Aquiles Franco at a gym under the Alcantara Machado gym on July 18.